August 20th marks the 17 year anniversary of the move of the King of Prussia Inn from the Route 202 median to a 1.5 acre site off Bill Smith Boulevard near South Gulph Road. Route 202 north was closed for parts of the day along with South Gulph Road.
Right and left turns were the hardest part as each turn was estimated to take more than two hours. Site manager, Jim Scott, estimated the move, at a “slow walking place,” would take 12 to 16 hours to reach its final destination.
Scott and his crew of eight from International Chimney Corp. of Buffalo, NY started their preparations the third week of May. The 20 to 24 inch thick stone walls were reinforced with two tons of concrete; massive, 16 foot, 6 by 8 wooden timbers on the stone walls; and half inch steel cables.
Moving the inn was part of the state Transportation Department’s $250 million, four year project to widen Route 202 to six lanes in Upper Merion and Tredyffrin Townships.
You can read more about the inn’s historic journey at the kophistory.org post and these articles from the Philadelphia Inquirer.
